Resident Evil 2 (1998) Review

Resident Evil 2 took a haunted-mansion formula and detonated it across Raccoon City, and its cleverest idea is structural. The zapping system gives Leon and Claire separate campaigns on separate discs, then intertwines them: items taken in one run vanish from the other, and the relentless Mr. X only stalks the second scenario, so the full story demands four playthroughs that all feel distinct.

The police station is the series' best space, a converted museum whose medallion puzzles and locked wings make architecture itself the antagonist. Ammo scarcity, ink-ribbon saves, and tank controls that force you to commit to every step keep dread mechanical rather than cosmetic. The pre-rendered backgrounds were sumptuous for 1998 and the fixed cameras are framed like a horror film. The B-movie dialogue and plotting are cheerfully pulpy, which caps the story grade, but as escalating survival design it barely wastes a room.